The Support Group Blog

I attended JSON and API sessions during the FileMaker Developer conference and they blew my mind! The two technologies actually go hand and hand; one is built on the other so it was a very informative and comprehensive day for me. FileMaker integration features are my favorite benefits of the platform because they allow us to connect and exchange data with other data sources, thereby expanding the capabilities of our applications. I was able to witness some amazing FileMaker integrations between these two sessions.

Endless Possibilities

Of course, I am familiar with some common FileMaker integrations such as Salesforce, MailChimp, QuickBooks and even Eventbrite. But, the integrations can go beyond typical data exchanges. Personally, I think some of the capabilities border on artificial intelligence. Cool, right?! I mean imagine if you could upload photos into a computer system that was able to identify objects in the photo and even attach a verbal response to the photo. That surely might reduce the amount of time you spend tagging and categorizing items within your database. Not impossible with FileMaker 16 - just sayin'.

Have you heard about facial recognition technology being tested at some airports recently? Basically your face verifies your access so there's no need to fumble for your boarding pass and ID. That certainly would make traveling less of a pain these days. A similar application could be applied to a FileMaker app where security was of the utmost importance like maybe within government agencies or financial institutions.

The API and JSON enhancements in FileMaker 16 are truly remarkable. The stuff that we can do with integrations within the FileMaker platform are very innovative and exciting. There’s just a ton of possibilities for different kinds of web and application integrations. I think you can find an API to suit just about any specific use case; if you can think it, you can develop it.